- Dec 6 August Schleicher, German linguist (b. 1821)
- Dec 13 Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer, dies at 74
- Dec 24 Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist, dies at 66
- Dec 25 Linus Yale Jr., American portrait painter and inventor (Yale cylinder lock), dies at 47